Birdseye Mountain, located
in Castleton, VT, is the site of a fascinating lost ski area. There is
plenty of history of this mountain, and this NELSAP article has the most
historic pictures of any other lost area on the site! In this article,
you'll learn the history of and see pictures of the construction of the
mountain, two very unique lifts plus a beginner rope tow, plans for
expansion that unfortunately did not work, and the area today. As
mentioned, there are lots of pictures, so please by patient in loading
this article. All historic pictures are courtesy of Bill Jenkins, all
recent photos are from Jeremy Davis. We'll start off by looking at a
general history, Bill's memories/story, historic photos, then current
photos.

March 1963,
from the highway looking at north peak face. Click on image for larger version.

A view of the mountain in the early
1960's. Click for larger.

This lost ski area was
founded by Bill Jenkins, along with a board of directors, in 1961. These
include Stan Brzoza of West Rutland; Harold Blittersdorf of Pittsford;
Malcolm Williams from Poultney; and Herman Dederer of Shelburne. You
will be able to learn all about Bill's development and history at the
mountain below. The area was constructed on the north side of Bird
Mountain, just off Route 4 (now 4A). It was easily accessible from
eastern New York and the Rutland area. The mountain range there is the
northern end of the Taconics, and is geologically very different from
the nearby Green Mountains. The north face starts off gradual near the
base, but rises dramatically near the summit - with nearly vertical
cliffs in spots! The area is not known for its heavy snow, and is
actually located in one of the least snowiest parts of the state,
averaging only near 60-70" a year.

Birdseye opened in early
1962 with a rope tow serving a small beginner slope as well as a Stabil
Disc Lift. This is a lift that Bill Jenkins developed. It is a safer
form of a Pomalift, and does not detach. The cable did not derail, and
the individual hangars had a flexible tube, instead of rigid metal pole,
for comfort and flexibility. The Stabil Disc Lift served a wide open
slope that faced west, and was 750' long, and had about 150' of
vertical. A 40 meter jump was also available. A lodge with a restaurant
and ski shop/rentals was also built.

The following year, a second Stabil Disc Lift was built, 600' long, and
was called the North Face Disc Lift. This lift served several new
trails, and terminated just below a powerline.

This trail map, from the 1961 Town of Ira Annual Report, shows the
layout. Note the jump on the left, and the short rope tow and original
Stabil Disc Lift next to it. In the center, you can see the second
Stabil Disc Lift, and the middle lift is a future T-bar in 1965. The
upper lift and trails were never built. Click on image for larger
version.

Snowmaking was installed
during those first few years, but was not needed very much, due to
higher than average snowfalls. Snowmaking was mostly setup on the west
facing slope served by the 750' disc lift. Night skiing was available on
this sloep.

Plans for a summer
operation were also developed, but never fully implemented. These
included a Vermont style park, dedicated to the history of the state.
Shuttles to the summit of the mountain to another restaurant were
planned but were not implemented.

(To the left is a
topographic map of the area, showing the trails and powerline)

With all the good snow
during the first few years of operation, the Board of Directors decided
to build another lift in 1965- this time a Doppelmayr T-bar. This was
built above the powerline, and served several new trails. This lift was
1300' in length, had 390' of vertical, could serve 900 skiers per hour,
and traveled at 500 feet per minute, giving it about a 2.5 minute ride.
From the top of the T-bar to the base was about 500' of vertical. A
total of 6 trails were now available for skiing.

Unfortunately, building
the lift went against the overall plan of the mountain. Bill Jenkins
wanted all new trails to be covered by snowmaking, but the board decided
to expand anyways, and Bill resigned. Accordingly, two bad snow seasons
followed, and the area folded. The T-bar was removed likely in the late
1960's or early 1970's. We are not sure where it ended up, but for all
we know, still operates at another area!

To the right is an aerial
shot of the mountain, year unknown. You can clearly see the powerline
and the various trails. Click for larger.

Birdseye did not go to waste just
yet though. A camping area was built in the 1970's at the base area, including a
swimming pool. Even though the pool was built next to wetlands (you'd think bugs
would be a problem), the abundant bird population was able to control the
mosquitoes. Don Sevigny and his father operated the camping area during the
1970's. The original Stabil Disc Lift was left to remain on the property, while
portions of the second disc lift were removed. It is not known what happened to
the rope tow during this time. Most of the trails, particularly the upper ones,
grew in fairly rapidly. Hang gliders frequently used the exposed cliffs to
launch during the winter.

In the late 1970's, the
area was bought by Donald Goldman, who also owned/operated Roundtop Ski
Area. Bill Jenkins by this time was the manager and ski school director
of Roundtop, and he started to work on plans to get Birdseye operational
again. Unfortunately, Round Top had two back to back low snow years, and
closed, and the plans were scrapped.

During the 1980's through
early 2000's, the trails at Birdseye grew in, and some logging took
place at the mountain. The base lodge burned down, and the camping
ceased.

When I (Jeremy) first
visited the area in 2001, the access road was flanked by trees, and was
easily accessed. These trees were removed in 2003, and flooding took
place over the access road, making it difficult to walk in. I visited
the area in May 2003 and got a personal tour from Don Sevigny, and took
many photos which are viewable below.

To the left is an aerial
view of the area in the early 1990's. I have labeled various features
for you. Click on it for larger version.

Bill
Jenkins' Memories and More Detailed History

This mountain operation was
started by me, and other persons from nearby towns, in 1961. We wanted a nearby
mountain for the students at Green Mountain College and Castleton College to
have recreational ski lessons, and for race team practice, and ski meets. We
also drew skiers from nearby towns, and from Rutland.

My original plan was to develop a
summer operation first. It was to be a theme park, called the Vermont Mountain
Park. It would have featured early Vermont life and history.

A road was to be constructed to
the top of North Peak. Tourists would have been transported to the top via
special vehicles with flotation tires, similar to BigFoot and Monster Trucks.

From the revenues, I planned to
finance the building of the more costly winter operation.

The winter design would have
included a chairlift on the north face of the North Peak facing Rte 4. There
would also have been chairlifts on the east and west sides of the mountain.

All slopes would have snowmaking
at there was unlimited water available from the Castleton River at the base of
the mountain.

(Right - Bill Jenkins'
wife at the top of Birdseye, early 1960's)

This excellent mountain has a
vertical drop of 1300'. Due to the topography of the mountain, exceptionally
steep slopes are possible, as well as beginner and intermediate slopes of more
than 2 miles. The terrain looks rocky, with some spectacular cliffs. However,
where the ski slopes would be located, there are very deep deposits of excellent
earth for trail construction.

(Left-a
view of the back of Birdseye, click on image for larger version)

Incidentally, the big powerline
cut was done just before we purchased the property. As a result, one chairlift
would have gone through a tunnel under the powerline.

Unfortunately, my directors linked
me so much with skiing, that they decided to go with the skiing operations
first. This was understandable as skiing was really taking off, and there was an
obvious need for more areas.

(Right- a view of the
construction of the far western wide slope. Click on image for larger
version).

Consequently, we went ahead with
the start of the ski area. My friend Stan Whitney and I built two Stabil Disc
Lifts, using our own design. One was on the west facing slope, and one was on
the North Face. We had a small rope tow for the school, to the left of the west
slope. There was also a 30 meter jump further to left.

(Left- a picture of the first Stabil Disc
Lift, early 1960's. This served the wide open west facing slope. Click
on image for larger version)

We installed a 10 snow gun system
by Larchmont which worked very well. This was the 3rd in Vermont, after High
Pond and Green Mountain College. Many are surprised that Killington and Pico
were much later to snowmaking.

A very nice base lodge was built.
It had a large open eating space and food service on the 2nd floor. This was
entered from the slope using a stairless ramp. Toilets were on the ground floor,
as were the ski and rental shops.

(Right- a view of the
North Face Disc Lift, March 1965. Click on image for larger version).

The area did quite well for
several years with this limited operation. We built a large camping area for the
summer tourists. This was very popular, and profitable. We also sold a number of
homesites in a development at the base of the west side of the mountain.

Then, a serious and fatal mistake
was made. As unlikely that it would occur in such a poor snowbelt, Birdseye had
two extremely heavy snowfall years, and the snowmaking was hardly used.

(Right- a view of the rope
tow and beginner area, developed April 1962. Click on image for larger
version).

As I had been operating the
college program for 10 years at that time, I knew normal years would have little
natural snow. That is why I insisted that the area never put in ski lifts
without the slopes having snowmaking.

Without the river for snowmaking,
Birdseye was not a logical place to build a ski area. The mountain was ideal for
ski terrain, but it had little natural snowfall.

However, the two exceptional
snowfall years got the directors excited about putting in a Doppelmayr T-bar to
the halfway point on the North slope. This was an expensive move as it also
required a great deal of slope construction.

I reminded the directors of the
policy of no lifts without snowmaking, but was not successful in pointing out
that a large expenditure could be jeopardized, if we had the usual low snowfall
season, and no snowmaking on the new lift and its slopes.

I resigned over the issue, and
they went ahead with the expansion. As might be expected, we then had several
nearly snowless years, no snowmaking on the new slopes and T-bar, and the area
went out of business.

Another ironic situation also
contributed to Birdseye's problems. We were still trying to raise capital
through stock sales. Killington was starting up at the time. Local investors
decided because Killington received so much natural snow, they would be better
off investing there. Snowmaking wouldn't be needed up there.

Of course, Preston Smith,
Killington's founder, had seen our snowmaking system at Birdseye and the
college. He was convinced, and proceeded to make Killington the biggest
snowmaking operation in the country.

(Right-a flyer showing the
area for sale, likely late 1970's. Click for larger version)

In the late seventies, I almost
instituted my original summer operation for a Vermont theme park at Birdseye. At
the time, I was the manager and ski school director of Roundtop Mountain in
Plymouth. The owner purchased the Birdseye Mountain property. We planned to
start with an Alpine Slide, and expand it into my original design.

However, another nearly snowless
winter nearly bankrupted Roundtop, which had a very limited snowmaking system,
and that cancelled the Birdseye plans.

I left Roundtop, and sold
flotation tired tractors to ski resorts until I sort of retired in the mid 90's.
As you can perceive, I am somewhat a compulsive inventor/innovator, and am still
at it.

(Right-one of Bill's plans
for the mountain's revival, late 1970's, showing the alpine slide. Click
for larger version).

Historic Photos: (Note, for all photos, click on image for larger version)

Slope Construction:

Trail construction.

Moderately steep trail.

Far western
slope, with access road visible.

Rope Tow:

This slope was very gentle and was
about 100-200' long. Note the parking lot in the background.

West Facing Slope Stabil
Disc Lift:

The west facing slope stabil disc
lift was 750' long and had a vertical of about 150'. All comments on black and
white photos are from Bill Jenkins.

A welder works at the
base. Beginner slope and west facing slope in background.

Various other Views (Historic)

A waterfall near the
mountain.

A view of the nearby
valley.

Near the top of the
mountain.

Plans to Reopen

This plan called for
trails and lifts to be built to the summit, including a 4000' summit
triple lift. Click for larger version.

Another plan, but this one
called for an eastern facing "Morning Sun lift". Click for larger
version.

This plan shows a summit
expansion, with all the lifts and other features labeled. This may have
been from the 1960's. Click for larger version.

Recent Photos
- click on each for larger version.

May, 2003 Pictures

View of the Mountain

From a distance, the mountain has almost no
visible trails.

From just
off Rte 4A, the road looks clear - but was flooded a short distance
away.

This is the base area,
looking up to the top of the mountain.

Base Area

Base area.
Pool in background, and foundation of lodge in upper right.

Diving board on pool.

Larger view of pool.

Filtration tanks of
pool.

West Facing Slope/Stabil Disc Lift

This lift is amazingly intact 42 years after it
was installed! However, the west facing slope is growing in rapidly and was
tricky to hike up. Drive and summit return on the lift are very grown in.

Looking up the west
facing slope, quite overgrown.

An eroded road is
visible up the slope.

The base drive is in
the brush, trust me!

Snowmaking brackets
near the base of the lift.

A lower
lift tower.

Another
tower.

A carrier
still hangs, but tied in a knot. Its been there for 42 years!

A more intact carrier.

Grip aparatus.

Grip in more open area
of slope.

Transformer and lights.

One of the top towers.

Don Sevigny
walking near the top of the lift.

One of the
top towers.

Looking down the slope
to the base area.

Bullet
ridden lights still stand 36 years after the area closed.

Final tower on the
lift.

The return
station is in the brush, trust me!

North Face Stabil Disc LiftThe North Face lift has the base cement
foundations still standing, along with a few towers. The summit return is also
standing and in good shape. The cable and carriers are long gone.

Base of the
lift. Liftline disappears in the woods.

Don Sevigny
stands at the top tower.

Unloading area.

Top return.

Top return.

Top return in the
brush.

Another
shot of the top return.

T-barWhile the T-bar was removed long ago,
foundations and the lift line are clearly visible, at least in the fall-spring.

Base foundation.

More of the base foundation.

Lift line - still
fairly clear.

Trails

A trail on
the eastern edge of the ski area.

Another view of that
same trail.

Old showers
for the campground on the trail just east of the North Face Stabil Disc
Lift.

Comparison Photos

These pictures here provide some of the best
comparison shots from the 1960's to 2003. They all appear above as well. Click
on each for larger version.

Base of
North Face Lift early 1960's.

Base of North Face Lift
2003.

Top of
North Face Lift early 1960's.

Top of North Face Lift
2003.

Final tower
on North Face Lift 1965.

Final tower 2003.

If you have more information on this area, or
have a personal story, email us at
nelsap@yahoo.com